Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar outlined how the UN agency has been supporting Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, including following the wave of electronic device explosions this week. Hundreds of pagers across the country simultaneously detonated on Tuesday, while walkie-talkies and even some solar panels blew up the following day. The attacks reportedly...
Speaking at the annual Peace Bell Ceremony, António Guterres warned that war is spreading, inequalities are growing, and new technologies are being weaponized without safeguards. “International institutions must be better positioned to respond,” he stressed. The Secretary-General’s appeal comes ahead of a pivotal moment for global cooperation. Later this month,...
Launching the Global Humanitarian Overview, Martin Griffiths, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, praised the heroic efforts of humanitarians but emphasized that international support is falling far short of the escalating needs. “We thank all donors for their contributions, which amount to $20 billion so far this year – but that is just...
The humanitarian role is what gets a lot of public attention as agreements are secured to arrange for aid to get through to civilians and to protect them, including trying to ensure that international humanitarian law (often called the laws governing war and broadly covered by the Geneva Conventions) are...
One in every 33 people (that’s 242 million people) on the planet needed humanitarian assistance in 2022, and most of that aid was coordinated through the UN. Here’s how the UN does it: Coordination: Crisis HQ This week, as the Israel-Palestine crisis erupted on 7 October, the UN Office for the...
Wednesday’s military takeover in Gabon came on the heels of Niger last month, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Chad, Guinea, Sudan and Mali in the years prior to that. Overall, all recent coups except Myanmar, in 2021, have taken place on African soil. The announcement of the takeover in Gabon...
“Central Africa is richer in opportunities and resources than it is in challenges”, but, the coming months will mark “an important turning point” for the region, where crucial political and electoral processes must take place by the end of the year, said Abdou Abarry, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for...
The study, released on Monday ahead of the historic UN Water Conference, reviewed household access to WASH services, the burden of WASH-attributable deaths among children under five, and exposure to climate and environmental hazards, revealing where children face the biggest threat, and where investment in solutions is desperately needed to...
“Ships carry over 80 per cent of the goods traded globally, with the percentage even higher for most developing countries; hence the urgent need to boost resilience to shocks that disrupt supply chains, fuel inflation and affect the poorest the most,” the UN agency said in a new report on maritime transport. Between...
Speaking on the eve of the G20 Summit there, the UN chief appealed for the bloc to support his initiatives to address climate change, sustainable development, the worldwide food and energy crises, and digital transformation. The Summit is taking place at “the most pivotal, precarious moment in generations”, he told...
The world is faced with risks of nuclear proliferation and nuclear catastrophe not seen in decades, he noted, adding that “IAEA strives to meet the demands of this moment with expert resolve.” Mr. Kőrösi thanked the agency’s chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi, for his leadership, as well as its experts “who...
The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 reveals that the convergence of increased fighting, the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, and the long-term climate crisis, could push an additional 75 to 95 million people into extreme poverty this year – compared with pre-pandemic projections – and jeopardize the SDG blueprint for more resilient,...